Calvin R. Stapert is professor emeritus of music at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. His previous books include My Only Comfort: Death, Deliverance, and Discipleship in the Music of Bach; Handel's Messiah: Comfort for God's People; and A New Song for an Old World: Musical Thought in the Early Church.
Ordained Servant
"A very engaging read. . . . Highly recommended!" Peter
Mercer-Taylor
-- University of Minnesota
"Calvin Stapert here provides an encounter with Joseph Haydn's life
and work that is at once broad in its cultural outlook, confident
in its musical explorations, and intimate in its portrayal of the
composer's human experience. The music scholar will find an array
of Haydn's works, both canonical and farther from the beaten path,
revisited with thoughtfulness and keen musical insight. The more
casual reader is guided with the gentlest hand toward a rich
understanding of what made Haydn's compositional voice so uniquely
significant to his era. And Stapert's own voice -- that of a
consummate storyteller -- carries the tale of Haydn's remarkable
life swiftly along." John Nelson
-- founding artistic director of Soli Deo Gloria
"A wonderful and loving work on a great but often sidelined
composer. Stapert captures Haydn's marvelous effervescence as he
distills volumes of musicological detail into a manageable and
enjoyable read. If one wants to explore the vast variety of
opinions on Haydn written over the last two centuries, go no
further. Ultimately, Stapert makes a strong case that Haydn belongs
in the highest echelons of composers." Kenneth Slowik
-- Smithsonian Institution
"This excellent study gives a detailed yet eminently readable
survey of Haydn's life and brilliant output. . . . Stapert's
analyses of important works can be appreciated by readers armed
with either scores or recordings, and his glossary entries clearly
explain the four dozen or so technical terms he cannot avoid
employing. Playing Before the Lord makes a cogent case that, as
Stapert so pithily puts it, 'listening to Haydn's music gives us
cause to rejoice because it is a revelation of grace, a case in
point of the way things really are.'" Choice (American Library
Association)
"This is a nice introduction to the career and music of Joseph
Haydn. . . . One extremely positive feature of the book is the
author's ability to explain in a clear fashion the complexities of
musical forms. . . . Recommended." Catholic Library World
"This most enjoyable work attests to Haydn's religious devotion and
expresses a love for the life of music as a testament to the most
spiritual of all arts -- playing before the Lord in authentic
love." Worship
"The narrative and the analyses are well written. . . . In short,
we get a full-orbed sense of Haydn's life and music." The American
Organist
"An excellent and accessible account of an important and noble
musical life whose brilliant output had immeasurable influence on
the musicians and the music that followed. . . . A most
interesting, informative and rewarding read to the learned musician
and aficionado alike."
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